One woman's donation to Steve's Coats for Kids will keep dozens warm.

Updated: Nov 13, 2017 - 10:51 AM

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One woman's donation to Steve's Coats for Kids will keep dozens warm.

“If I can put a smile on a child’s face, or help a mother who is struggling to buy a coat to put on her kid’s back, I want to help.” Nikki White said. She has helped. This one lady has donated 27 coats to Steve’s Coats for Kids, and still plans to donate ten more coats.

“I struggled in my life. I used to work three jobs to make sure my kids had a roof over their head and clothes on their back.” White said. “It’s hard when you don’t have a way to supply clothes for your kids.”

Those days of financial difficulty are now gone for White, and she’s glad to be in a position where she can help others.

White went through the closets in her home and found coats her kids and family had outgrown. “I put the first batch of coats in a big, black plastic bag and took them to work.” White, who for the past four months has been employed at Showmars, laughed as she said, “We have a collection barrel at the store, but there wasn’t enough room in the barrel to put all the coats.”

Showmars is a collection point for Steve’s Coats for Kids. WSOC-TV’s Steve’s Coats for Kids collects coats for local area children who live in need, and the coats are distributed free by Crisis Assistance Ministry. In the last 13 years, Steve’s Coats for Kids has collected over 120,000 coats.

“I could have bagged them up and donated them somewhere else, but I know these coats are going to be given free.” White said. “I hate to see kids go without. It just breaks my heart.”

This is not the last donation White will make this year. “I called up my mother and told her about it. Now she is cleaning out her closet, so she can get coats together to donate.”

You can donate new or gently used coats until January 14 at any area Showmars, Ashley HomeStore, Hendrick Honda or E.R. Plumbing Services.